When Sim City (2013) was anounced, I was one of the happiest gamers alive. I adore city-builders so much I knowingly make bad choices with some other styled games. *cough*tropico*cough* but with Sim City, I was so very very confident that everything would be great, and I would see everything i loved again.
Then, it came out, and looked like little more than another sequel in Sierras religion series (Caesar and Pharaoh were both god-kings and Zeus is an actual god) that should have been named "Dollar" to reference the modern era. I. Was. So. Disappointed.

Then they gave me a free game I've never played to appologize for the screw-ups, and told us the only way to make the cities "bigger" was to build UPWARDS.

The shame I felt for my once-loved developer was the highest I have ever felt.

A while back I saw a youtube video (Lazy Game Reviews) about Cities: Skylines, and bought the game before the ten minute mark.

Once you figure out the nuances of the roads and their unlocking stages, there is only one thought to have; "THIS IS WHAT SIM CITY WAS MEANT TO BE!"
The map creator is so powerful I have trouble figuring out how it behaves. Rivers are unbelievable, bottlenecks and extra sources need to be very very carefully planned so that river beds don't run dry, and city centers don't flood. Mountains can be sculpted as basic or detailed as you like. Want to make the Appalachia Hills? No problem. Want to make my home and back yard of the Rocky Mountains? You should probably start with a heightmap, but otherwise it's so doable. Heck, you could even recreate some of the iconic interstate system! (Though it might not be till summer 2015 when you can actually build the Eisenhower Tunnel....)
I don't think the type of tree influences actual gameplay (Though I wish it would. I'd love to have an industry that specializes in Oak furniture. "That's not natural...." Heh.) but it can control quite a bit of beauty. Aside from careful resource placement, all I can suggest for map making is get the workshop item (or make your own version it's not hard) of 2 parallel highways in opposite directions. Placing road intelligently without doing this in the map editor is quite the challenge.

That out of the way, the graphics are great, the game flows great, the speed is great. Everything is great.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go name one of my forest businesses "Buttes Enterprises"

When Sim City (2013) was anounced, I was one of the happiest gamers alive. I adore city-builders so much I knowingly make bad choices with some other styled games. *cough*tropico*cough* but with Sim City, I was so very very confident that everything would be great, and I would see everything i loved again. Then, it came out, and looked like little more than another sequel in Sierras religion series (Caesar and Pharaoh were both god-kings and Zeus is an actual god) that should have been named "Dollar" to reference the modern era. I. Was. So. Disappointed. Then they gave me a free game I've never played to appologize for the screw-ups, and told us the only way to make the cities "bigger" was to build UPWARDS. The shame I felt for my once-loved developer was the highest I have ever felt. A while back I saw a youtube video (Lazy Game Reviews) about Cities: Skylines, and bought the game before the ten minute mark. Once you figure out the nuances of the roads and their unlocking stages, there is only one thought to have; "THIS IS WHAT SIM CITY WAS MEANT TO BE!" The map creator is so powerful I have trouble figuring out how it behaves. Rivers are unbelievable, bottlenecks and extra sources need to be very very carefully planned so that river beds don't run dry, and city centers don't flood. Mountains can be sculpted as basic or detailed as you like. Want to make the Appalachia Hills? No problem. Want to make my home and back yard of the Rocky Mountains? You should probably start with a heightmap, but otherwise it's so doable. Heck, you could even recreate some of the iconic interstate system! (Though it might not be till summer 2015 when you can actually build the Eisenhower Tunnel....) I don't think the type of tree influences actual gameplay (Though I wish it would. I'd love to have an industry that specializes in Oak furniture. "That's not natural...." Heh.) but it can control quite a bit of beauty. Aside from careful resource placement, all I can suggest for map making is get the workshop item (or make your own version it's not hard) of 2 parallel highways in opposite directions. Placing road intelligently without doing this in the map editor is quite the challenge. That out of the way, the graphics are great, the game flows great, the speed is great. Everything is great. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go name one of my forest businesses "Buttes Enterprises"